Does 'Tebowing' belong in next Madden game?

Madden football is a virtual yearbook of the previous season and a preview of what's to come. And while Calvin "Megatron" Johnson won the cover art honors, Tim Tebow is the homecoming king of the 2011-12 NFL season.

You couldn't escape Tebowmania last year — and so far this offseason — so it's only appropriate that the video game reflects the trends.

Player celebrations aren't exactly a new idea for Madden anyway. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers does his wrestling belt dance celebration in Madden 12, now fans are just waiting for the famous salsa dance from Giants receiver Victor Cruz.

If people are up in arms about a computer animated figure kneeling in a video game, they must not have anything else to be up in arms about.

Is Tebowing in Madden 13 really that big a deal? If Tim Tebow does it in a game, why shouldn't the Tebow in the Madden game do the same thing? Is the youth of America going to be corrupted by watching a computer animated likeness of a devoted football player kneeling in thanks?

This should not be a controversy. If Madden 13 wants to be as realistic as possible — and it does — it will include Tebowing. And if anyone has a problem with it, they should play NFL 2K instead — or better yet, go outside and throw a football around.

It's a feature that makes perfect sense. Before, during and after games, you can find players genuflecting, thanking and requesting the football-loving deities above. If you're making an NFL simulation, then it's a worthwhile game play foil to include.

But if EA Sports is looking for a real simulation, they need to consider a few more features:

What about a James Harrison indignant head-shot button?

Or an Andy Reid late-game clock management incompetence factor?

Also, the Tebowing feature should only be unlocked after passing the "clipboard hero" mode and completing 46.5 percent of your in-game passes.

Of course there's a place for Tebowing in Madden. It shows the game designers have a sense of humor, and considering they work in Orlando, the epicenter of Tebow country, it's no surprise.

If you think it's bizarre that so much attention should be paid to one player — a backup no less — consider that at least one major network plans to have a reporter stationed at Jets training camp to chronicle the quarterback's every move.

As for the notion that building Tebowing into a video game is mocking Tebow's faith, I don't buy it. He never makes apologies for his public displays of praise. "I've got to believe I'm probably not the first athlete to get on a knee and pray," he said. "The greatest form of flattery is imitating somebody."